Archive for March 18th, 2010

Major League Baseball 2K10: The RI Review

Evan Longoria, MLB 2K10 10 Comments »

Over the past week, I have spent a lot (A LOT) of time playing 2KSports latest installment of their baseball franchise, “Major League Baseball 2K10,” on our XBox 360. According to my wife, I have missed our daughters first words, first steps, first day of school, first date and her wedding.

Mrs. Prof will never understand.

She did finally wrestle the remote away from me. Mysteriously, she all of the sudden knew how to switch from HDMI to Component inputs as if she has known all along and was just pretending to be technologically illiterate.

So until she goes to sleep, I will take this break from “MLB 2K10″ to let you guys know my thoughts about the game so far.

My Favorite Features

Gameplay Controls: Ultimately, once you get past the glitz and glammer, the most important aspect of the game is battle between the pitcher and the batter. And in “MLB 2K10,” a video game has finally got it right. From both the mound and the plate, the controls are intuitive and give you more of a sense that you are actually controlling the player’s arms as opposed to entering some special code and hoping for the appropriate response.

  • PITCHING: Throwing specific types of pitches requires a specific movement using the right analog stick. The movements are just tricky enough that you need a little bit of practice, but not so much that you feel lost. And the movements seem somewhat logical for the type of pitch being thrown. They are even reversed for left-handers, which is just the type of seemingly meaningless detail that actually adds to the realism. But maybe our favorite pitching feature is the stress factor. As the pitcher tires or the stressful situations arise (runners in scoring position, less than 2 outs) the target will shake and the controller will rumble making the process of aiming as difficult as you would expect in a real game.

  • HITTING: With hitting, the learning curve is a bit steeper as you need one analog stick to control trajectory of the batted ball (ground ball vs fly ball and pull vs opposite field) and the other to swing the bat. As in real life, don’t expect to be knocking home runs your first time in the box. Rather, you need to get reps to get the timing down. I loved the notification just as the pitch is released as to the type of pitch. It is on-screen for just a split-second, but for anybody that has ever faced live pitching, that is exactly when a batter first recognizes the spin of the pitch. And for once a game is very unforgiving towards those that are free-swingers. The more likely you are to swing at the first pitch, the less likely that pitch will be in the strike zone. So the keys are to learn the strike zone and learn it well. You are going to strike out a lot at first, but eventually, you will get the knack and the hits will start coming.

The “MLB Today” Feature: I admit, this feature seemed kinda corny to me at first, but it grew on me quickly. Basically, with “MLB Today” you can play any game that is scheduled that day in real life and play the game using the same lineups and rosters that are being used in real life. So if Carl Crawford is traded and Desmond Jennings is called up to make his big league debut against the Yankees in Replica Yankee Stadium, that is the roster you will get in “MLB Today.”

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Why Sonnanstine Might Actually Win 5th Spot In Rotation (Hint: $$)

Andy Sonnanstine, David Price, Evan Longoria, Wade Davis 29 Comments »

In 2008, Evan Longoria did not make the opening day roster. Many complained that the Rays were being cheap by delaying Dirtbag’s service time clock. In the end, he only missed the first 10 games and a week later signed a multi-year deal that rendered all the speculation meaningless.

In 2009, David Price did not make the opening day roster. Again, many complained that the Rays were being cheap. Unlike Longoria, it was easier to defend the Rays stance with Price as there were some obvious deficiencies in his game and many agreed that a little more seasoning would do him some good. Price would eventually be called up and made his 2009 debut in the Rays’ 47th game.

While the fates of Longoria and Price were hotly debated, there has been little discussion about the future of Wade Davis this year. Up until now, most have just assumed that Davis was a lock for the opening day roster and the 5th spot in the rotation.

But Joe Maddon insists there is a battle between Davis and Andy Sonnanstine for the 5th spot in the rotation, calling the race a “coin flip.”

Is JoeMa just pushing Davis or does Sonny have a legitimate shot? It is much worse than you think.

In fact, we now wonder if the job is Sonnanstine’s to lose. Why? For once, money may the lone factor.

Let’s look back at Price’s 2009 season, and the date he was promoted. By waiting until May 25th, Price’s big league service time at the end of the year totaled 164 days (172 days are required to receive credit for a full year). By waiting until May 25th, Price still has 6 more seasons until he is eligible for free agency. If he had started the season with the Rays, he would have been eligible a year earlier.

So while money may not have been the only factor, it was certainly a nice ancillary benefit in the end.

Now let’s look at Davis. Big Dub has 32 days of service time. If Davis starts the season on the opening day roster, he will eligible for free agency after the 2015 season. However, if the Rays wait until after May 17th, the Rays can delay his free agency clock by a year and Davis won’t be eligible until after the 2016 season.

So is 6 weeks of Sonnanstine in the rotation worth an extra year of Davis at a reduced salary? That would be 8-9 starts for Sonnanstine. On paper, the difference between Davis and Sonnanstine over the course of 8-9 starts might only be 0.5 Wins. But we are talking about a small sample size and teams don’t get half-wins in the standings. So maybe Davis is really worth more like 1-2 wins over that span.

What if the Rays miss the playoffs by 1 or 2 games?

If the Rays keep Davis in the minors for 6 weeks, they might save a few million in payroll 5-6 years down the road. That is nothing to scoff at when the Rays have a limited payroll. But is a few million dollars in 2016 worth more than 1-2 games in 2010?

What if the Rays miss the playoffs by 1 or 2 games?

And what about Maddon’s strong desire to get off to a better start in April? Are we supposed to think the Rays are giving their best effort if they purposefully do not field their best 25 players?

What if the Rays miss the playoffs by 1 or 2 games?

If Sonny versus Davis is a real battle. And if it is really about Davis’ service time. The only way Wade Davis is making the opening day roster is if he is significantly better than Sonnanstine this spring. Davis will have to be so much better that he leaves the Rays no choice. Even then, they may still choose the money.

And if they choose the money, we won’t see Big Dub back in the rotation until after May 17.

Lord help us all…

[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss A Shieldsian Performance, Soriano’s Debut And Gomes As A Fighter, Not A Lover

Andy Sonnanstine, James Shields, Jonny Gomes, Rafael Soriano, Sean Rodriguez, Wade Davis 4 Comments »

The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.

click above image for boxscore

THE GOOD: Sean Rodriguez. Rodzilla is becoming a fixture here. Yesterday was a diving catch and a single that he hustled into a double…Hank Blalock. Another double for Blalock, who now has 3 in limited action…James Shields. In what looked like a mid-June start, Shields allowed just 1 run in 5 innings of work, striking out 3 and walking none. And in typical Shieldsian fashion, the one run was a solo HR.

THE BAD: Rays Beat Reporters. Please stop calling Sean Rodriguez “S-Rod.” There is nothing in the AP Style Guide that says every big league ballplayer with the last name “Rodriguez” should have his name abbreviated in this manner. If you want to throw one out there every once in a while, that’s cool. But let’s not make it a habit. K? Thx.

THE TELLING: Rafael Soriano made his debut with the Rays, striking out the first two batters he faced. He did give up a double and hit a batter…Matt Joyce participated in a minor league going 1-6.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA

  • Programming note: We are off to New Orleans for the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament, so updates around here will be few and far between for the next couple of days. We think you will survive just fine.
  • Fernando Perez, John Jaso, Jose Lobaton and Chris Richard were sent to minor league camp.
  • Love this line: “How did [the Reds] go a year with Jonny Gomes on the team and no fights?” And when various players were asked who they wanted on their side in a fight, Gomes was the unanimous choice. When told about this, Gomes responded “You don’t need a second. I’ll be No. 2, too”…We miss that guy (thanks Doug). [CNATI]
  • Joe Maddon called the battle for the 5th spot in the rotation between Wade Davis and Andy Sonnanstine, “the proverbial flip of a coin”…More to come on this later today. [St. Pete Times]
  • Roger Mooney writes that Andy Sonnanstine’s “rigorous offseason workout program” is paying off this spring. [Tampa Tribune]
  • Former Rays prospect Elijah Dukes was released by the Nationals yesterday. Some are saying the move had nothing to do with off-the field issues…Umm, when was the last time a team released a young, talented starting player that was making the league minimum? Not even the Rays are that cheap (Dukes’ contract was non-guranteed). [MLB Trade Rumors]
  • Marc Topkin writes about Rafael Soriano’s debut. [St. Pete Times]
  • Roger Mooney has 5 questions for Heath Phillips. [Tampa Tribune]